Now The Sun Will Rise, And We Will Try Again
by ThoughtfulWriter101
Summary: When Dan meets a blue-eyed stranger in a coffee shop, he thinks he's finally found a friend. But the next morning, when all he's left with is a slightly torn note and some memories that fade further away the more he tries to reach them, will he be able to find him again? (i.e a random idea I had where Dan and Phil chase each other across multiple timelines and fluff occurs)
1. Chapter 1

The coffee shop was packed when Dan walked in, but then this wasn't surprising given the fact that the streets outside looked closer to rivers than pavements. The sound of the rain was muffled inside, but he could still hear the raindrops pattering against the window, racing each other down the glass in tiny rivulets. The sharp tang of coffee and the hint of hot chocolate in the air was inviting, but the large queue to get said drinks wasn't and Dan decided against joining the end of it.

Weaving his way to the back of the shop, he spotted one free table in the corner. The paneling of the walls meant it was significantly darker at this table than one closer to the front, but there was no room anywhere else and Dan wasn't about to sit down with a bunch of strangers. Besides, his phone screen was bright enough to see anywhere. He dropped his bag under the table and slid into the chair, slipping his phone out of his pocket and checking his Twitter. It was a bit of a wasteland, but then it was a Tuesday – no one ever did anything in the middle of the week. Plus, Dan didn't have that many friends to get updates from anyway.

The rain pounded harder against the window and, judging by the way the litter was rolling past the wind had picked up as well. More people entered the shop to escape the weather and Dan slunk further down into his seat, praying no one would try to sit with him. All he wanted was 15 minutes of peace and quiet before he had to brave the elements once again to get to his lecture. Tuesdays were generally good days for Dan – he only had one lecture and it was in the afternoon so he didn't have to get up ridiculously early. Dan firmly believed _all_ lectures should be held after midday because after all, who is awake enough to take in any information at a 0900 lecture? No one. Well, no sane person anyway.

Looking up, he noticed that the queue had diminished slightly but there wouldn't be enough time to drink anything now. Dan sighed. He'd just have to survive the 2 hour talk without any caffeine. He leant back in his chair again and started to play a game on his phone, but was only allowed two minutes before he was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. Dan looked up.

"I'm really sorry, but there's nowhere else to sit," said the stranger, gesturing to the chair opposite Dan. His dark hair was soaked and plastered across his pale forehead and the fringe half covered his startlingly blue eyes. His yellow hoodie was also dripping wet. A backpack hung off one shoulder and one of the zips on the side was broken so Dan could see the familiar bright blue Oyster card sticking out of the pocket. He looked at Dan expectantly.

"Oh, uh, yeah – sure. Go ahead," Usually Dan would be making his excuses and leaving as fast as he could in this kind of situation, but there was something about the man that stopped him. Maybe it was the fact that he looked just as uncomfortable as Dan felt, maybe it was his voice, maybe it was the way he looked at him as he sat down, but whatever the reason, Dan didn't leave straight away.

"Nice weather we're having," the tall man said as he took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair.

Dan laughed a bit awkwardly. "Yeah," he muttered.

"I'm Phil, by the way," said the stranger.

"I'm Dan. Nice to meet you, I guess?"

Phil laughed.

"You too," he said. Dan was about to go back to playing on his phone when he noticed Phil was still staring at him from across the table. His gaze was mildly unsettling.

"Can I help you?" said Dan, a little uncomfortably.

"What?" Phil seemed startled.

"You were staring at me," Dan said.

"Oh. Was I?"

"Yes, "Dan said slowly, nodding. He was slightly concerned a madman had sat down opposite him.

"Sorry. I do that sometimes. I was daydreaming,"

"About what?" Dan was curious, despite himself.

"Oh, nothing," Phil tailed off. There was a brief pause, which wasn't exactly awkward but it still felt there should be something to fill the gap in conversation. "Actually I was thinking about giraffes," said Phil suddenly.

Dan looked confused. "Giraffes?" he repeated, his voice inviting an explanation.

"Like, what if giraffes just had normal size necks? They'd look ridiculous! I kind of want to draw that actually,"

Dan laughed, properly this time. "Do you always start off conversations with strangers by talking about different possibilities for giraffe anatomy?"

"Only the interesting looking ones," replied Phil, smiling. Dan felt himself blushing and ducked his head slightly, mentally kicking himself. He was not going to embarrass himself in front of a complete stranger, however funny (and kind of cute) they were. There was another pause, more companionable this time, then Phil reached into his bag, pulled out a notebook and pen and started sketching lightly. Dan watched him for a bit, then returned to looking at his phone before realising what the time was. He swore under his breath and Phil looked up at him.

"I have to go," Dan said, stuffing his phone into his pocket and standing up hurriedly. He slung his bag over his shoulder and groaned when he saw it was still pouring outside. Just as he was about to go, he heard Phil's voice behind him.

"Here, have this," he said, ripping out the page from his notebook he'd just been drawing on, folding it up and offering it to Dan. Dan slipped it into his pocket, his brows furrowing in confusion. "I hope you meet a short-necked giraffe on your travels!" said Phil with a grin.

"I hope so too," said Dan, grinning back. Then he pushed his way through the crowds and out into the rain, leaving Phil to remain at the small corner table alone.

It wasn't until later on, after Dan had arrived at his lecture drenched, still annoyed at the crowds on the tube and muttering apologies for his lateness that he got the chance to unfold the small piece of paper. It was a surprisingly good yet comical drawing of a stump-necked giraffe, trying but failing to reach some leaves on a tree. Dan tried to stifle a laugh but failed, earning an irritated glance from his lecturer and the people around him. He looked back at the picture and noticed some scrawled numbers in the corner, accompanied by the words "Don't be a stranger! - Phil" Dan smiled and put the note back in his pocket. Obviously he hadn't made quite such a fool of himself as he had first thought.

If you had asked Dan what had been said in the rest of that lecture he would not have been able to tell you, primarily because he'd spent the entire 2 hours planning what he would say to Phil on the phone. On his way back home, however, he started having second thoughts. They'd only met a few hours ago after all. Would he seem too desperate if he rang that very evening? Maybe it would be better to wait for a while. Or maybe Phil was just as lonely as Dan and wouldn't care how quickly he rang back? He just didn't know.

When he got back to his flat, his roommate was out, which was good as Dan probably wouldn't be able to talk sensibly with them. After grabbing a can of drink from the fridge, he sat on his bed and stared at the drawing Phil had given him. What should he do? Dan got as far as typing the numbers into his phone with shaky hands, but he couldn't bring himself to press the call button, instead saving the number into his contacts. He tried to tell himself it was because he was playing it cool, but he knew deep down it was because he was just too nervous.

"I'll wait till tomorrow," he said, out loud for some reason. Nodding his head, as if confirming his decision, he put the phone away and walked to the sitting room to greet his roommate. Now he'd made a choice, Dan could almost put Phil to the back of his mind whilst he ate dinner – takeaway Chinese again, both Dan and his roommate Chris were too lazy to ever cook anything themselves. But only almost.

Later though, Dan couldn't get his mind off the phone call he was going to make tomorrow and therefore couldn't get interested in the programme they were watching. He didn't know why – he'd only met this Phil guy for 10 minutes – but there was something about him that was just…different. Or maybe it was just because Dan didn't really have any friends except Chris. In fact, that was almost certainly it, Dan told himself. It definitely wasn't because he might be falling for Phil. Dan refused to consider that particular possibility. Nevertheless, all these swirling thoughts meant Dan just wanted to go to sleep, so it was only ten thirty or so when he said he was going to bed. Chris looked surprised.

"But I swear you never go to bed before, like, 3 in the morning," he joked. Dan rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha," he said drily.

"Seriously though, you feeling alright?"

"Oh yeah," Dan said. "I stayed up most of last night finishing off a paper though, so I'm really tired,"

"Oh, ok. Night then,"

"Goodnight," said Dan, walking to his bedroom. He nearly tripped over a pair of his trainers as he walked in and remembered he had meant to clear the room up last weekend. You could barely see the floor beneath all the discarded clothes, books and the couple of posters that had fallen off the wall that he couldn't be bothered to stick back up again. Maybe next weekend he'd finally get around to cleaning it up.

Dan got changed quickly, scrolled through Tumblr for a while, then put his phone and the note on his bedside table, got into bed and turned out the light. The darkness made it easier for him to switch off, despite the almost constant siren sounds outside, and it wasn't long before he fell asleep.

In the morning, Dan had a vague sense of waking up from an incredibly vivid dream, but the only image he could remember was of a blue-eyed stranger handing him a phone. He also couldn't shake the feeling that there was something urgent that he had to do, but he couldn't for the life of him think what it was. Dismissing the feeling, Dan sat up and felt for his phone but his fingers instead brushed lightly against a piece of paper.

"What…?" he muttered under his breath. He looked at the piece of paper and became even more confused.

"Who the hell is Phil?"

 **A/N Hello and thank you for reading! This is my first fanfic so I apologise for any mistakes I've made :/ Reviews are much appreciated for I am a nervous person and I want to check I'm not publishing utter trash - so thank you in advance if you left one!**

 **Have a nice day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N There's like the tiniest amount of swearing in this chapter (and I mean one-word kinda tiny) but just thought I'd warn you guys. Enjoy!**

Dan stared at the note for quite a while, trying to comprehend why it was lying on his bedside table. Questions floated around in his head and the more he tried to answer them, the more confused he became. Why was this note on his bedside table? Why didn't he remember putting it there? Why on earth was there a stump-necked giraffe drawn on it? And, most importantly, who was the mysterious Phil?

Dan sighed. Overthinking this wasn't going to get him anywhere, and if he didn't get his ass out of bed he was going to be late for the bus to the leisure centre. Much as he disliked working part time there, it did bring in a little extra money and there weren't many opportunities for lazy 17 year-olds to make any kind of salary, especially when the said 17-year old had spectacularly flunked all their GCSEs except English and Drama. So, despite his still rather large sense of confusion and general apathy, Dan swung his legs out of bed and got up.

A voice floated in through the door.

"Dan! Are you up yet? You're going to be late!" his mum's voice called.

"Yes!" he yelled back. "I'll be down in a minute!" Dan rushed around the room, putting on yesterday's clothes that he'd discarded on the floor in a heap and pulling on some mismatched socks. He picked up his backpack that was lying crookedly on the floor and stuffed his phone in his pocket, pausing briefly to check for any notifications and tapping out a few quick responses to his messages. The phone screen was cracked all the way across after an unfortunate incident involving an overfilled locker and Dan's complete and utter lack of coordination and reflexes, but luckily the phone itself still worked (which was really the only important thing). As he turned to leave he paused for a second and looked back at his bedside table. The note was still sat there, its edges fraying slightly and the strange cartoon still just about visible. It was like it was asking Dan something. Like it was saying "Well? Are you going to pick me up or not?"

"Oh, what the heck," Dan muttered. "It can't do any harm," He grabbed the note and shoved it into the pocket of his coat, then ran out of the room and shut the door behind him, the loud slam echoing down the hallway. As he came down the stairs, his mum protested half-heartedly at the state of Dan's top, but there was no real conviction behind the words. She knew her son couldn't care less about his appearance, much less be bothered to change after he'd already got dressed.

"Relax, Mum, it'll be fine," Dan said, proving her correct. He was about to leave when his mum's voice came again from behind him.

"Have you got your pass?"

"Yes, Mum," Dan sighed, turning around slightly on his heel.

"And your lunch?"

"Yes, Mum,"

"And you'll be back at three?"

"Yes, Mum, like always! I am seventeen, not seven, you know,"

"Go on then," she said, shaking her head. Dan turned around once more and headed out the door, rolling his eyes. His mum was far too overprotective sometimes.

The bus was packed when Dan got on, panting slightly from the exertion it had taken to get to the stop on time. There were no seats anywhere, so he manoeuvred his way to the side of the bus and grabbed hold of one of the bright yellow handrails. His hand came into contact with something sticky and he gagged slightly. Wiping his hand off on his jeans, he held on to another part of the rail and was relieved to find that this section was clean – well, as clean as it could be on a public bus. There wasn't any half chewed gum on it, anyway. Using his other hand to sweep his brown fringe away from his eyes, he looked out the smeared window at the passing fields. It wasn't a long journey into town, which Dan was thankful for, as he didn't want to be stuck on this bus that stank of body odour and McDonald's burgers for too much longer.

Soon enough, the rolling green pastures melted into streets of shops and Dan shoved his way through the crowds to get to the doors, using his bag as a convenient device for making a pathway. Jumping down the steps and onto the pavement, Dan checked his phone and realised that unless he were to run, he was going to be late.

"I'm too unfit for this shit," Dan muttered as he set off at a jog towards the leisure centre.

Dan arrived at the centre on time, but with a heart rate that was far too fast to be healthy. He signed in at the reception desk and was just looking around, trying to figure out what to do, when a voice called from across the lobby.

"Howell!" The manager who'd been put in charge of giving Dan something to do every day strode over. His ill-fitting suit unfortunately gave him a rather square-looking shape and his lanyard hung loosely round his neck. "P. Jones, Manager" it read. In all honesty he wasn't a bad person, but he had better things to be doing than shepherding around a lackluster work experience student who rarely said anything. This meant he didn't really engage with Dan apart from to bark instructions at him.

"Yes sir?" Dan asked.

"You're at the pool today, helping out the lifeguard. Quickly!" he said, then walked off. Dan groaned internally. He'd done this yesterday, and quickly discovered "help out" meant stand by the chair and watch the pool. With no other choice, however, Dan wandered towards the pool area. As he pushed the door to get in, he was greeted by the familiar, overpowering smell of chlorine. He dumped his bag at the back of the room and walked over to the chair. There was no one there.

"Typical," Dan muttered, then slouched against a wall, unsure of what to do next. He stood there for 10 or 15 minutes, thinking up theories for how on Earth that bloody note had got on to his bedside table, and was just about to go and look for the missing lifeguard when the staff door next to him opened. A figure stepped out, the bright red and yellow outfit of the lifeguard marking him as the person Dan was looking for.

"Hi! Dan, right?" said the lifeguard. Dan nodded. "I'm Phil. Sorry I'm late. Lifeguarding involves more paperwork than you'd think," he chuckled. Dan paused. " _Phil,"_ he thought. Could it be the guy from the note? No, it wasn't possible, surely. He'd never seen this guy before in his life. Although, there was something about that swooping black fringe that was familiar, even if Dan had no idea why. He recognised the eyes too, an intriguing blue and green mix with flecks of yellow. In fact, Dan faintly recognised the entire person, but he still had no clue why this was.

"You OK?" Phil asked, a concerned look crossing his features. Realising he had been staring, Dan shook himself slightly.

"Yeah, sorry. Really tired," Dan replied. There was a pause, then Phil nodded his head.

"Right, OK then. Well, I guess we'd better start…what exactly is it that you're supposed to be doing?" he asked. Dan snorted.

"Honestly? I have no idea," he said, still giggling slightly. Phil smiled, then also started laughing, shaking his head.

"It's ridiculous, isn't it? This place's organisation skills are shoddy," Dan nodded, then looked at Phil. He definitely recognised him. Only vaguely, sure, but something about Phil was just…familiar. He was about to ask whether they had, in fact, met before, when a voice echoed across the room.

"Howell! Change of plans. You're helping set up equipment in the gym," Mr. Jones' voice was unmistakeable and sounding more cross than ever, so Dan reluctantly stopped what he was going to say. Maybe he'd get to talk to Phil again later, but for now it wouldn't do to anger the manager. As he was leaving, Phil tapped him on the shoulder.

"You forgot this," he said, handing Dan his bag and smiling.

"Oh, thanks," Dan replied, smiling back awkwardly and looking down at his feet.

"See you around!" called Phil as he walked back to the edge of the pool.

"Yeah…see you…" Dan said quietly.

"Come _on_ , we haven't got all day!" Mr. Jones sounded on the verge of really having a go at Dan, so he picked up the pace a little and half jogged over to the door, wondering what fresh delights the leisure centre had to offer.

The answer was – well, not much. Sorting out hula hoops and skipping ropes, although better than standing idly by the side of the pool, still wasn't that exciting, and Dan couldn't wait for the day to be over. He couldn't keep his mind off that note – well, the note and the new lifeguard that he somehow recognised. Dan had a gut feeling they were connected, but he dismissed it as ridiculous. It's not like Phil was an uncommon name, and who's to say the person that wrote the note really was called Phil? They – whoever they were – might have made the name up. Plus, the note might not have been for Dan at all. Maybe it had floated in through the bedroom window by accident (Dan chose to ignore the fact that there had been no wind at all last night). Maybe Dan had simply forgotten that he picked the note up off of the ground the day before, however unlikely that was. Whatever the reason for that note being there, it must just be a coincidence that the new lifeguard happened to have the same name as the author of the note. They weren't connected.

But Dan couldn't help wondering.

Dan had arrived home from work tired, but still pondering the note. It was such a weird occurrence that he just couldn't help theorising about it, so much so that even his parents had noticed he was distracted at the dinner table. It was at this point that Dan realised he needed to stop thinking about it. He had somehow picked it up from somewhere, forgotten why, and was now stuck with a random cartoon that wasn't for him. The end. Just another of life's funny little stories he could have a laugh about with his friends when he finally got back to school at the end of this mind numbingly dull week (Dan couldn't believe he was actually looking forward to going back to school).

Now that he'd had this realisation, he was finally able to get on with his evening like normal. Message some friends, scroll through things on his phone, and, most importantly, play on the Xbox. As usual, 1 hour of Halo turned into 4 and it wasn't until around half midnight that Dan realised he should probably go to bed if he didn't want to be acting like an ogre at work in the morning. Saving his progress and switching off the console, he changed in to his pajamas and got into bed, switching off the light as he did so.

As he lay in the dark, Dan realised he'd been an idiot and never thought to do the obvious thing – call the number on the phone. That way, he'd know who it belonged to and solve the mystery of why it was even there in the first place. It was too late to ring it now – even Dan the night owl knew that – but he decided he'd try it in the morning, mentally kicking himself for not doing it sooner. Having satisfied himself with his plan, Dan rolled over and went to sleep, safe in the knowledge he'd sort out this whole thing come the morning.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.

 **A/N Dun, dun, dun! Ok, that was a pretty awful cliffhanger, but we'll run with it. Thank you so much to everyone for your lovely reviews (keep 'em coming please, they make my day!) I also guess I should say something about posting schedule, so my plan is to upload** ** _at least_** **once a week on Sundays, but maybe also on Wednesdays if I've been particularly productive. Thanks again for reading and hope you enjoyed!  
PS: I know the setting for the next meeting, but I'm stuck between two ideas for the one after that so help me out - secondary school or runaway?**


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